KVVU

About KVVU

KVVU-TV is a television station licensed to Henderson, Nevada, broadcasting on channel 5 and serving the Las Vegas area as an affiliate of the Fox network. Owned by Gray Media, the station is branded as Fox 5, with the slogan "Local. Las Vegas." Channel 5 first signed on September 10, 1967, as KHBV-TV, Nevada's first independent television station, and became a charter Fox affiliate in 1986. The station maintains studios on West Sunset Road in Henderson, using the 25 TV 5 Drive street address, with its transmitter on an unnamed peak in Black Mountain Regional Park near Henderson.

Nevada's first independent

The station signed on September 10, 1967, as KHBV-TV, Nevada's first independent station, licensed to Henderson on VHF channel 5. Owned first by Charles Vanda, with Levin-Townsend Enterprises acquiring it in 1969, the station initially operated from a converted Flying A gas station along Boulder Highway near Sunset Road, later moving to an office building. From 11 a.m. to midnight, it ran movies from the 1930s through the 1950s, cartoons, westerns, and sitcoms.

In 1971, the station assumed its current KVVU-TV call letters after being purchased by the Nevada Independent Broadcasting Corporation. By 1975, it ran movies, cartoons, off-network sitcoms, drama shows, and westerns, signing on by 7 a.m.

The Johnny Carson years

In 1978, the station was sold to Carson Broadcasting, a company owned by Tonight Show host and entertainer Johnny Carson, who visited the station fairly often. Under Carson's ownership, the station often ran R-rated theatrical films uncut during late-night and early morning hours; the same film would run uncut in the evening and in censored form in the afternoon, with some films of questionable content airing with a pre-recorded warning from Carson himself.

The Carson era gave the station a colorful identity in a Las Vegas market still small enough to support only four commercial television stations.

Meredith ownership and Fox

The Des Moines-based Meredith Corporation purchased channel 5 in 1985, acquiring a highly rated station. In 1986, KVVU became a charter Fox affiliate, and the station presented an on-air mascot named Rusty the Fox in 1990. The Fox affiliation brought the network's growing primetime lineup to Las Vegas just as the city began its explosive growth.

In 2021, Gray Television acquired Meredith's local media group, bringing KVVU into Gray Media. The acquisition made the station part of one of the country's largest station groups, with Gray's resources supporting its news expansion.

Fox 5 News

KVVU launched a local news operation in 1998 and now broadcasts extensive local newscasts, with seven hours of local news each weekday at last report. Branded as Fox 5 News, the station's newsroom covers the Las Vegas Valley's distinctive news environment, from the tourism and gaming economy to rapid growth, water issues, and the city's major league sports teams.

The station's newscasts have grown with the market, serving one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country.

Raiders partnership

KVVU first partnered with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2017, when the team announced its future move to Las Vegas. The NFL franchise selected the station as its official Las Vegas broadcast home, partnering on image and brand introduction, growing the fan base, community outreach, and supporting local organizations and nonprofits.

The station has served as the flagship for Raiders preseason games, press conferences, and post-game shows, with much of the original programming created in the team's Henderson studios. The partnership deepened the station's connection to Las Vegas's emergence as a major league sports city.

Technical operations

KVVU-TV broadcasts on digital VHF channel 9, displayed as virtual channel 5, with an effective radiated power of 120 kW from its Black Mountain transmitter. The station shut down its analog signal on VHF channel 5 on June 12, 2009, as part of the digital television transition.

The station's translators extend its signal to communities across southern Nevada.

Digital presence

KVVU's digital home is fox5vegas.com, offering live streaming, on-demand video, and comprehensive coverage of Las Vegas news, weather, and sports. The station maintains mobile apps and active social media accounts under the Fox 5 brand.

As part of Gray Media, the station's digital operations are integrated with the company's digital media platforms. Its official website is https://www.fox5vegas.com.

Community presence

With the slogan "Local. Las Vegas," KVVU has positioned itself as the valley's hometown station, emphasizing community involvement and local identity. The station's partnerships with the Raiders, local nonprofits, and community organizations reflect its integration into Southern Nevada civic life.

The 25 TV 5 Drive studio address in Henderson has become a landmark for the station's viewers, symbolizing its Henderson roots in a market centered on Las Vegas.

Rusty the Fox and the TV5 era

Upon Meredith taking control of the station in 1985, KVVU adopted a stylized "TV 5" logo borrowed from its new sister stations, KPHO-TV in Phoenix, WNEM-TV in Bay City, Michigan, KCTV in Kansas City, Missouri, and WTVH in Syracuse, New York. Channel 5 remained an independent station until October 9, 1986, when it became one of the charter affiliates of the newly launched Fox network, one of a very few handful of stations on the VHF dial to align with the new network upon its startup. However, by the time Fox expanded its programming from late nights into evenings in April 1987, network prime time programming initially ran only two days a week, so KVVU continued to be essentially programmed as an independent station. In 1990, the station introduced an on-air mascot named "Rusty the Fox," apparently named after both the network and the station's then-general manager Rusty Durante. The mascot, a person in a fox costume, is used for community events and was used for announcements for family-oriented information, as well as the block of children's programming called Fox 5 Kids Club.

News and the Raiders

KVVU launched a local news operation in 1998, and it now airs seven hours of local news each weekday, producing and delivering more than 60 hours of news weekly to the largest audience share in the Las Vegas market. The station's slogan is "Local. Las Vegas." KVVU first partnered with the Raiders in 2017, when the Oakland Raiders announced the future move to Las Vegas; the NFL franchise selected the television station as their Official Las Vegas Broadcast Home to exclusively partner with for image and brand introduction and transition, growing the Las Vegas fan base, community outreach, and supporting Las Vegas organizations and non-profits. KVVU FOX5 was later named the Official Broadcast Home of the Las Vegas Raiders with a multi-year extension, with much of the original programming created in the Raiders' Cox Studios in Henderson.

Gray Television ownership

The station's announcer from 1973 to 2001, Ralph Menard, would stretch the hourly station identification out to emphasize the market's larger city, intoning "Henderson..." neutrally, then leading into an elongated segue to "...and Laaassss Vegas!"; Menard died in 2003. In 1991, Fox 5 Las Vegas moved into a modern studio on Sunset Way in the Green Valley subdivision of Henderson, and its studios are now at the Broadcast Center on West Sunset Road in Henderson. Meredith Corporation sold its Local Media Group, comprised of 17 television stations, to Gray Television for $2.7 billion, with KVVU purchased by Gray in December 2021, making it a sister to KOLO-TV in Reno. The station's digital home is fox5vegas.com.